Anti-submarine missiles, which carry a torpedo payload, are effective deterrents in defending a ship or a fleet of ships. In most embodiments, the missile is maintained in a vertically-oriented canister maintained on a ship. In other embodiments, the missile may be launched from an aircraft. After launch, the missile travels to a target area where a parachute deploys. At water entry, the missile deploys the torpedo to search for the submarine target. Critical to operation of the missile and the torpedo is the missile's nose cone. The nose cone needs to be rigid enough to pierce a membrane that covers the canister and withstand the rigors of flight, but the nose cone also needs to shatter at water entry to allow for proper deployment of the missile. Moreover, the nose cone needs to shatter in small enough pieces so that they do not damage the torpedo's tail fins.
In the development of the missile nose cone, selection of the nose cone material is extremely important to meet all desired operational characteristics when considering the sensitivity of the nose cone and its role in protecting the missile during flight. Any material that does not meet the required characteristics can lead to a misguided or damaged missile resulting in a defeated mission.
The current art methodology for producing missile nose cones includes purchasing polymeric material from a manufacturer, molding the nose cone, and then hoping the finished nose cone meets desired requirements. Due to the precision needed for the material used to make the missile nose cone, many problems result from the current methodology.
The first problem stems from the cone's manufacturing process which relies on use of a polymeric material that exhibits a broad range of properties related to its parent manufacturing processes. If the material's properties are not adequately controlled at the material manufacturing locations, the missile nose cone will not perform as desired. Many times, material within each purchased lot is above or below the operational strength range for the missile nose cone. This is due to process variability such as time, temperature, human intervention, and ingredient variability. Secondly, large lots are the only means of purchasing the nose cone material. As a result, if the lots do not meet specifications, the material purchased cannot be utilized, wasting time, resources and money.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method that alleviates the effects of process variability in the manufacture of missile nose cones, allows material to be used in the nose cones to be produced predictably without total reliance on the material manufacturer, and that meets the precise material requirements of the missile nose cone. Accordingly, there is a need for missile nose cones to be manufactured to specific end-use properties. And there is a need for formulation of specific material preparation to meet molded component performance requirements.